Reddest bottom I’ve seen. What’s wrong??

[skidd17]

Hi! My rooster has been prone to poop stuck on his butt feathers since I got him and I never worried. I noticed recently that he has started to lose some feathers around his neck, and the poop stuck to his feathers was worse than usual, then noticed it is SO red. This redness is above and below his vent. What could be wrong?

Note: I did trim a few feather around his butt to get poop off.

 

[Debbie292d]

Hi,

Since he's also losing feathers on his neck, the most common reasons would be he's getting picked on, he's got mites, or he's molting.

Do any of your other chickens have anything like what's going on at his neck or his butt?

If possible, I'd separate him out for a bit and put some type of ointment on that like triple antibiotic ointment (without painkiller) would work.

As for his poopy butt, I'd start them all on probiotics in their water a couple of times a week. Otherwise, Greek yogurt is high too and you could give them all a tablespoon of it every other day or so. That would help if there's any digestive issues and improves their flora.

I would also keep his feathers trimmed back there until his poop improves so it won't stick to him. I had a chicken that nothing helped so I just kept her trimmed back there.

 

[skidd17]

Hi,

Since he's also losing feathers on his neck, the most common reasons would be he's getting picked on, he's got mites, or he's molting.

Do any of your other chickens have anything like what's going on at his neck or his butt?

If possible, I'd separate him out for a bit and put some type of ointment on that like triple antibiotic ointment (without painkiller) would work.

As for his poopy butt, I'd start them all on probiotics in their water a couple of times a week. Otherwise, Greek yogurt is high too and you could give them all a tablespoon of it every other day or so. That would help if there's any digestive issues and improves their flora.

I would also keep his feathers trimmed back there until his poop improves so it won't stick to him. I had a chicken that nothing helped so I just kept her trimmed back there.

A few of my other chickens have some poop stuck to their vent feathers, but not as bad as the rooster. A bunch of girls have ruffled feathers and missing feathers on their backs at the base of their tails. I went into the coop tonight to check for mites/lice, but didn’t see anything moving on the chickens or the roosts/nesting boxes. But some of them do have dirt/dandruff on their feathers. I feel like it may be mites. Just because I couldn’t see active mites, doesn’t mean they aren’t there, right?

 

[Debbie292d]

Just because I couldn’t see active mites, doesn’t mean they aren’t there, right?

Right!

I would get a container of garden/permetherin dust and do every chicken entirely, concentrating on under their wings, neck, and butt. Then when they're out of the coop, sprinkle it everywhere...floor, nest boxes, even the roosts.

Repeat this in 7-10 days as some eggs will still be around and could hatch, starting this all over again.

Something like this. Walmart and most farm stores have it.



I would also get some poultry vitamins like Poultry Cell and put that in their water every other day. Mites take a lot out of a chicken and you should see them start looking healthier.